AFFINITY INSURANCE
BANCASSURANCE
AFFINITY BANKING
Global Affinity
Finance Club
Finaccord’s newsletter about affinity financial services worldwide
Welcome back to the Club! For this quarter, to make the newsletter more navigable, we have changed the organisation slightly. In particular, within the familiar af-finity insurance, bancassurance and affinity banking categories, articles are now ordered alphabetically according to the product focus of the partnership mentioned. For example, within the section about affinity insurance, separate sub-sections are included for each of accident / health insurance, assistance, business insurance, life insurance / retire-ment savings, motor insurance, niche insurance, product insurance / warranties and travel insurance. Thereafter, partnerships with no specific product focus are included under a final ‘general’ sub-heading and a similar structure applies to each of the bancassurance and affinity banking sections. Combined with the usual listing of organisations mentioned in the newsletter on the penultimate page, this should make it easier to find the news that is of most relevance to you. Otherwise, the stand-out deals in the world of affinity finance from the last quarter, in our opinion, are those of American Express with Bank of China (credit cards in China), Assurant Solutions with Sprint (mobile gadget insurance in the US), Cigna with TTK Group (health insurance in India), Crédit Mutuel with Desjardins (a general banking alliance), Manulife with Bank of China (various forms of insurance in China), MasterCard with Vivo (mobile payments in Brazil), and VZG with ING Bank (health insurance in the Netherlands). With best regards, Alan Leach Director [email protected]
For our published reports, news and more please visit
www.finaccord.com
2011 AUTUMN
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Affinity Insurance News 4
Accident / health insurance 4
AXA insures the professional golfers of
the Spanish PGA 4
Cigna signs agreement for health insur-
ance joint venture in India... 4
…and begins distributing Sun Life’s
stop-loss cover via TPA network in the
US 4
Assistance 4
Cigna acquires UK insurance solutions
provider FirstAssist 4
Business insurance 4
Allianz France signs business insurance
partnership with France Angels 4
AXA collaborates with business associa-
tions in Germany 4
Life insurance / retirement savings 5
Aviva creates joint venture Spanish life
insurance company 5
R+V and German travel trade associa-
tion forge agreement for retirement
products 5
Motor insurance 5
Santander unveils online brokerage fa-
cility for motor insurance in Spain 5
Equity Insurance Partnerships retains
Nissan mandate 5
Niche insurance 6
Solid commences partnership with Ste-
ve Perryman and Watch It Live 6
EZShield partners with The Warranty
Group for identity theft cover 6
Product insurance / warranties 6
Assurant Solutions renews product in-
surance partnership with RadioShack…
6
... establishes new relationship with
Sprint.... 6
... and wins furniture insurance mandate
in the UK 6
Bouygues Telecom launches mobile
protection scheme with Asurion 6
Domestic & General expands product
protection deal with Indesit... 6
... and launches computing assistance
service with ProMarkt in Germany 7
Travel insurance 7
Allianz Global Assistance and ISTA
team up for space tourism 7
Hiscox links with Millstream Underwrit-
ing for travel insurance 7
Solid Försäkring provides travel insur-
ance for Hyllinge Bus customers 7
General 7
AXA Spain partners with the Chinese
community in Spain 7
Chartis launches new affinity division in
France 8
Legal & General tees up legal services
for business protection clients 8
—————————————
Bancassurance News 8
Accident / health insurance 8
ING announces co-operation with
VGZ for health insurance 8
Assistance 8
Solid Försäkringar links with Ikano
Bank for road assistance 8
Life insurance / retirement savings 8
Ageas and Sabanci jointly increase their
stake in Aksigorta 8
Allianz signs agreement with Sberbank
for the acquisition of Allianz Life 8
Aviva and DBS launch first Renminbi-
denominated insurance plan 9
San Miniato Previdenza to be merged
into Cattolica Assicurazioni 9
HSBC receives permission to expand
bancassurance operations in China 9
Legal & General extends bancassurance
relationship with Barclays 9
Liberty Group partners with Standard
Bank for direct life insurance 9
Prudential ties with Citibank for Viet-
namese bancassurance 9
Niche insurance 9
SPB enhances retailer bank’s Visa cards
with new features 9
Product insurance / warranties 10
Barclaycard launches new suite of prod-
uct insurance policies 10
Fiditalia ties with Société Générale In-
surance for used car extended warran-
ties 10
General 10
Manulife signs a new framework agree-
ment with Bank of China… 10
…and also partners with a new bancas-
surance distributor in Indonesia 10
—————————————
Table of contents
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Affinity Banking News 11
Affinity bank accounts 11
Britannia extends affinity relationship
with Stoke City F.C. 11
Automotive finance 11
Ally Financial and MG Motor form
partnership in the UK 11
AXA and Banco Pastor support the
CESPA LUBRICANTES’ network of
garages 11
Aston Martin offers US customers retail
‘subvention financing’ from Chase 11
GMAC-SAIC Named Preferred Fi-
nance Provider for new Baojun brand in
China 11
Santander Consumer Bank re-enforces
German car finance partnerships 11
Santander Consumer Finance drives
into Chinese joint venture 12
Business banking 12
Banco Popolare backs finance scheme
for women in agri-business sector 12
Banques Populaires sign agreement to
facilitate finance of artisans 12
Co-branded cards 12
ANZ and SRCB combine for new co-
branded credit card in China 12
Consel and Genertel launch new co-
branded credit card 13
Caisse d’Epargne pilots transport card
with Veolia Transdev in Reims 13
Lloyds TSB re-launches Avios co-
branded credit cards 13
Targo Bank issues co-branded card in
association with German TV 13
Inter-bank card distribution 13
American Express establishes card issu-
ing partnership with Bank of China... 13
... and with KB Kookmin Card in South
Korea 13
Diners Club International partners with
HDFC Bank in India 14
Japan’s Mizuho Financial Group part-
ners with China UnionPay 14
Mobile payments 14
Barclaycard and Orange launch new
mobile payments handset in the UK 14
BNP Paribas Mobile is launched in con-
junction with Orange 14
Crédit Agricole commences mobile
contactless payment pilot in France 14
HDFC Bank and Vodafone launch mo-
bile banking product for rural commu-
nities 15
MasterCard links with Etisalat to launch
of new mobile payments service 15
MasterCard facilitates introduction of
prepaid contactless wristwatch 15
MasterCard and Telefónica team up for
Brazilian mobile finance joint venture
15
Money transfers 16
MasterCard and Western Union estab-
lish global payments alliance 16
Western Union enters into new interna-
tional remittance agreements... 16
...and extends partnership with Société
Générale’s international retail business
16
Mortgages 16
GMAC Mortgage to offer reward pro-
gram in association with Loan Value
Group 16
Retailer banking 17
BMO Bank of Montreal and Canadian
retailer unveil two co-branded accounts
17
Rabobank’s US subsidiary expands cash
access by partnering with Walgreens 17
Retailer cards 17
American Express forges link with Japa-
nese retailer card issuer… 17
…and launches prepaid card for US
retail chain 17
Caisse d’Epargne’s launches multi-
retailer prepaid gift card 17
Citigroup unveils new initiatives in the
Czech Republic and Philippines… 17
… and renews major retailer card rela-
tionships in the US 18
Desjardins takes control of Staples Can-
ada’s credit card portfolio 18
Western Union extends prepaid plat-
form to the UK 18
Retailer finance 18
La Redoute and Crédit Agricole Con-
sumer Finance replace cards with online
finance 18
GE Capital creates two new retailer
finance partnerships in the US... 19
... and renews three others 19
General 19
Crédit Mutuel and Desjardins Group
agree closer co-operation 19
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Affinity Insurance News
Accident / health insurance
AXA insures the professional
golfers of the Spanish PGA
AXA and the Professional Golfers'
Association of Spain have signed an
agreement whereby the 780 member
professional golfers will have an acci-
dent insurance policy with AXA. The
agreement is effective for one year and
provides cover for no extra cost to
these players. The broker Globalfinanz
intermediated this deal which also en-
tails its offering services to the same
members for their other insurance
needs.
Cigna signs agreement for
health insurance joint venture
in India...
Cigna and TTK Group, an Indian con-
glomerate, have disclosed the signing
of a joint venture agreement to sell a
range of health, wellness and insurance
products in India. The two partners
have begun the process of seeking
approval from the country’s Insurance
Regulatory and Development Authori-
ty (IRDA) and plan to submit a com-
prehensive filing early in 2012 with a
full license to operate not expected
until 2013. Cigna expects to leverage
its direct-to-consumer marketing capa-
bilities, which include a combination
of tele-marketing, online and direct
response television. Combined with
TTK’s nationwide reach, products will
be marketed across geographies and
customer segments, including those in
rural areas.
Founded in 1928, and family-owned
and operated, TTK Group operates
multiple businesses and reaches the
vast majority of Indian households
with its wide range of everyday prod-
ucts and services.
…and begins distributing
Sun Life’s stop-loss cover via
TPA network in the US
Cigna has agreed to make Sun Life
Financial’s range of stop-loss insurance
policies available via all the third-party
administrators (TPAs) that are regis-
tered with its ‘Cigna Payer Solutions’
system in the US. Stop-loss insurance
is coverage for businesses that self-
fund (or self-insure) their own employ-
ees’ healthcare plans. By self-funding
these plans, firms take on the risk of
their employees' healthcare expenses.
Stop-loss insurance is a layer of protec-
tion that comes into effect in cases
where these healthcare costs exceed a
certain threshold. Sun Life is one of
the largest direct underwriters of stop-
loss insurance in the US and, in its
own right, also has a long history of
providing TPAs with access to cost
containment programs.
———————————————
Assistance
Cigna acquires UK insurance
solutions provider FirstAssist
In the UK, Cigna has agreed to buy
FirstAssist Insurance Services from
Barclays Private Equity. FirstAssist has
nearly three million policyholders in
the UK, where it specialises in provid-
ing white-labelled insurance solutions
relating to travel, health, employment
and legal matters. As a result of the
deal, FirstAssist will begin to operate
as part of Cigna’s health, life and acci-
dent division. In order to guarantee
continuity for clients and policyhold-
ers, policies issued through FirstAssist
will continue to be underwritten by its
longstanding insurance partner, Great
Lakes Reinsurance (which is part of
Munich Re).
———————————————
Business insurance
Allianz France signs business
insurance partnership with
France Angels
Allianz France has signed a co-
operation agreement with France An-
gels, a French federation of investors
(‘business angels’) who make money
available to start-up businesses. Under
the terms of the agreement the federa-
tion will promote business property
insurance, liability insurance, key man
insurance and personal insurance (in
the areas of health and pensions) from
Allianz to its members. In 2010, the
members of the association invested a
total volume of EUR 40 million in 320
new businesses in France.
AXA collaborates with busi-
ness associations in Germany
In Germany, AXA and the nationwide
business associations – Die Fami-
lienunternehmer – ASU and Die Jung-
en Unternehmer – BJU – have been
working together on insurance issues
since the start of October 2011. Mem-
ber companies of both organisations
can benefit by working with AXA to
get comprehensive advice and tailored
insurance for their company’s specific
risks, plus cover for themselves, their
Affinity Insurance
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employees and their family. AXA will
also inform members of the associa-
tions about current trends in the insur-
ance sector through events and semi-
nars, such as occupational pensions
and healthcare, that are important to
companies for the retention of skilled
workers.
Die Familienunternehmer – ASU was
founded in 1949 and is based in Berlin.
All entrepreneurs over 40 owning a
company with at least ten employees
or EUR 1 million in annual turnover
are eligible to join. There are currently
5,000 individual members who employ
a total of 1.7 million people. Mean-
while, Die jungen Unternehmer – BJU
is a partner association of Die Fami-
lienunternehmer – ASU. Founded in
1950 and also based in Berlin, mem-
bers are all entrepreneurs under 40
owning companies with the same staff-
ing and financial characteristics as
those of the other organisation. There
are currently about 1,500 individual
members of Die jungen Unternehmer
– BJU.
———————————————
Life insurance / retirement savings
Aviva creates joint venture
Spanish life insurance com-
pany
In Spain, Aviva Vida y Pensiones has
taken a 50% equity stake in the life
insurance company of Pelayo as part
of a deal that envisages reciprocal
product marketing and a possible fu-
ture strategic agreement in non-life
insurance. It has acquired this stake
from La Mondiale which previously
owned a half of the company known
as Pelayo Mondiale Vida. Pelayo’s dis-
tribution network will continue to dis-
tribute the company’s products while
the brokerage network used by Aviva
Vida y Pensiones will distribute Pe-
layo's motor and household insurance
products, thus expanding its range.
The agreement also paves the way for
Pelayo to become a priority partner for
Aviva in future non-life insurance op-
erations in the bancassurance channel
in Spain, in which Pelayo would pro-
vide full after-sales service and cus-
tomer care.
R+V and German travel trade
association forge agreement
for retirement products
R+V, the German insurer linked to the
c o -ope r a t i v e movement , and
Deutscher ReiseVerband (DRV), Ger-
many’s largest association of travel
trade companies, have agreed on the
creation of a pension plan for the
more than 20,000 employees of the
member companies of the DRV which
represent about 80% of the German
tourism industry. The member compa-
nies will promote a variety of R+V
products to their staff, including the
Riester and Rürup contracts that are
the most common supplementary pen-
sion products in Germany. R+V has
already struck similar deals with trade
associations in the chemical and phar-
maceutical industries.
———————————————
Motor insurance
Santander unveils online bro-
kerage facility for motor in-
surance in Spain
In Spain, Santander has launched an
o n l i n e b r o k e r a g e s e r v i c e
(‘Superbuscador’) for selling motor
insurance through both its 3,000
branches and its website to guarantee
the most competitive price available
from a panel of seven underwriters:
AXA, Caser, FIATC, Groupama, Lib-
erty, Pelayo and Reale. Its objective for
2012 is to sell 60,000 policies by means
of this facility with a similar service
earmarked for its operations in Latin
American countries where online bro-
king and aggregation are also believed
to be developing rapidly.
Equity Insurance Partner-
ships retains Nissan mandate
In the UK, and following a full tender
process against a number of compet-
ing, providers, Equity Insurance Part-
nerships (EIP) has retained its affinity
partnership with Nissan for manufac-
turer-branded motor insurance. The
win sees EIP confirmed as the manu-
facturer’s affinity partner, charged with
administering its branded program, for
the next three years. In particular, Eq-
uity will underwrite Nissan’s ‘Free to
Go’ seven day motor insurance initia-
tive: cover notes are e-mailed directly
to dealers, allowing buyers to drive
new or used vehicles away on the day
of purchase. The deal with Nissan
continues EIP’s track record of collab-
oration with high profile automotive
manufacturer brands in the UK includ-
ing Honda, Kia, Mazda, Renault and
Triumph.
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———————————————
Niche insurance
Solid commences partnership
with Steve Perryman and
Watch It Live
In Sweden, two sports and entertain-
ment tour operators, Steve Perryman
and Watch It Live, will offer Solid's
travel and cancellation insurance to
their customers. In the case of can-
celled and moved events Solid will
provide compensation. The agreement
comes before the major sports events
of 2012 including the World Ice Hock-
ey Championship in Sweden and Fin-
land, the UEFA European Football
Championship in Poland and the
Ukraine, and the Olympic Games in
London.
EZShield partners with The
Warranty Group for identity
theft cover
In the US, general insurer Virginia
Surety Company (part of The Warran-
ty Group) and identity theft specialist
EZShield have announced a new
agreement. Under the terms of this
deal, identity theft expenses reimburse-
ment policies underwritten by Virginia
Surety Company will now form part of
the range of identity theft protection
and restoration services configured
and sold by EZShield. Until now,
EZShield’s products have been largely
focussed on detecting fraud, helping
victims to regain control of their iden-
tity, and repairing any damage to credit
ratings and public records; from now
on, however, customers will also be
able to insure themselves against some
of the costs associated with identity
theft. The resulting package will be
available in all states except for Flori-
da.
———————————————
Product insurance / warranties
Assurant Solutions renews
product insurance partner-
ship with RadioShack....
Assurant Solutions has announced an
extension to its exclusive relationship
with RadioShack for the provision of
product protection and repair service
plans to the customers of the latter.
RadioShack is a retailer of mobile tech-
nology products and services, as well
as products related to personal and
home technology and power supply
needs, with approximately 4,675 com-
pany-operated stores in the US and
Mexico, more than 1,475 mobile
phone centres in the US, and around
1,140 dealer outlets worldwide. Its
partnership with Assurant Solutions in
this field has been in place since 1994.
... establishes new relation-
ship with Sprint....
Moreover, Assurant Solutions has also
disclosed that it has begun acting as
the exclusive provider of mobile pro-
tection products and services for
Sprint tablet and netbook computing
devices. The Assurant ‘Advanced Pro-
tection Pack’ is designed to provide
comprehensive cover, protecting both
hardware and customer data if a device
is broken, lost, stolen or otherwise
compromised. Data security and tech-
nical support options are also available
for purchase. By the middle of 2011,
Sprint Nextel possessed a base of over
52 million telecoms and multimedia
customers in the US.
... and wins furniture insur-
ance mandate in the UK
Meanwhile, in the UK, Assurant Solu-
tions had been appointed by Guards-
man, a division of the Valspar Corpo-
ration, as its UK underwriter. Guards-
man is a leading provider of furniture
protection plans with around 2.5 mil-
lion in force in the UK and distribu-
tion relationships with retail outlets
including DFS, Furniture Village and
SCS.
Bouygues Telecom launches
mobile protection scheme
with Asurion
In France, Bouygues Telecom has
launched mobile phone insurance
scheme ‘garantie échange 24’ through
international technology insurer Asuri-
on. This new policy protects Bouygues
Telecom customers in the event of the
loss, theft or damage to their phone.
This new policy promises the prompt
replacement of the handset with an
identical model, and offers online
claims filing and expedited dispatch of
replacement phones.
Domestic & General expands
product protection deal with
Indesit...
Also in the realm of product warran-
ties and insurance, Domestic & Gen-
eral, has announced that it is extending
its existing product protection partner-
ship with Indesit in Italy and the UK
to additional markets across Europe.
The agreement covers the Indesit and
Hotpoint Ariston brands, and features
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Domestic & General’s usual marketing
techniques such as in-box cards, on-
product stickers, and online registra-
tion channels.
... and launches computing
assistance service with Pro-
Markt in Germany
Meanwhile, in Germany, Domestic &
General has launched a new customer
support service with ProMarkt where-
by immediate help and advice will be
offered to customers that own com-
puters, games consoles, smartphones,
and other electronic devices acquired
from the electronics retail chain. Over
140 topics are covered ranging from
how to correctly install a computer to
the use of operating systems such as
Linux, MacOS or Windows.
The plans have been designed to be as
flexible and cost-effective as possible.
Each plan is valid for up to two main
devices and any number of connected
devices, and the support lines are open
every day from Monday to Saturday
until 22:00. Customers can choose
from three different plan options: the
‘Pro30’ service with 30 calling minutes
per month costs EUR 5.99 per month;
the ‘Pro60’ service with 60 minutes
costs EUR 9.99 per month; and the
‘Proflat’ service, with unlimited sup-
port, costs EUR 19.99 per month.
———————————————
Travel insurance
Allianz Global Assistance and
ISTA team up for space tour-
ism
Allianz Global Assistance and the In-
ternational Space Transport Associa-
tion (ISTA) have signed a partnership
agreement in anticipation of the devel-
opment of space tourism and commer-
cial space flight. With the first flights
scheduled for October 2012, Allianz
Global Assistance will make contact
with space companies, travel agencies,
travellers and consumer groups in the
coming months. This is the first time
that the space industry has provided
insurance for this type of mission:
previously insurance companies and
the space industry had not been able to
find agreement to provide insurance
for commercial sub-orbital flights.
Together with ISTA, Allianz Global
Assistance has developed a full suite of
travel insurance and medical assistance
for space tourists, scientists and opera-
tors, such as SpaceLinq, Virgin Galac-
tic and Xcor, as well as offering advice
and personalised service for space trav-
ellers.
Hiscox links with Millstream
Underwriting for travel insur-
ance
In the UK, Hiscox has launched a new
travel insurance policy that is provided
by Millstream Underwriting, a manag-
ing general agent, and backed by AGA
International (formerly Mondial Assis-
tance). This can be purchased online
or by telephone and provides a choice
of Europe-wide or worldwide cover
for individuals, couples and families.
Designed for more affluent individu-
als, and for both business and leisure
use, the policy includes enhanced lev-
els of coverage such as up to GBP 10
million of emergency medical cover,
up to GBP 5,000 for cancellation and
curtailment if a trip needs to be cut
short due to an emergency, up to GBP
10,000 for political unrest and natural
catastrophe evacuation, and extended
travel disruption cover for missed de-
parture in case policyholders miss a
flight or cannot travel due to a strike,
industrial action or mechanical break-
down, which is considered especially
important for independent travellers.
Solid Försäkring provides
travel insurance for Hyllinge
Bus customers
Hyllinge Bus, one of Sweden’s largest
bus operators, has commenced a part-
nership with Solid Försäkring to pro-
vide travel insurance to its customers.
The policy includes, among other
things, luggage delay insurance and
compensation for missed vacation days
due to bus delays.
———————————————
General
AXA partners with the Chi-
nese community in Spain
In Spain, AXA has signed a partner-
ship agreement with the LOGOS
Foundation for the distribution of life
and non-life insurance products to the
country’s Chinese community. Movil-
com China, tied to the LOGOS Foun-
dation, is the exclusive distributor for
these policies. Initially, this deal will
focus motor, household, health and
business insurance, not only for the
50,000 LOGOS members but also for
the 200,000 people who make up the
Chinese community in Spain. In addi-
tion, products such as health insurance
will be adapted to the specific needs of
this group, for example offering the
possibility to be treated in China in
case of serious illness. According to
the Unión de Profesionales y Trabaja-
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dores, there are more than 33,600 self-
employed individuals originating from
China in Spain.
Chartis launches new affinity
division in France
In France, Chartis has declared its in-
tention to expand in the affinity mar-
ket for personal insurance in France by
launching ‘SPECIALTYsolutions’.
This will design products for a wide
range of affinity groups including pro-
fessional associations, sporting and
leisure organisations, commercial part-
ners such as hotels, supermarkets and
cinema chains, educational establish-
ments, festivals and ‘high risk’ groups
such as the police, the army and fire
brigades. Each partnership would offer
tailored benefits and ‘group’ pricing.
Chartis sees substantial potential in
this market, as there are about 15.8
million people aged over 16 who be-
long to an association, 8 million mem-
bers of sports federations, 70 million
visitors to leisure parks annually, and
1.2 million spectators at some 3,000
events and festivals each year
Legal & General tees up legal
services for business protec-
tion clients
In the UK, Legal & General has un-veiled a new deal with Lifetime Legal Services to provide a 'one stop legal shop' for its business protection cli-ents. Specifically, a panel of solicitors will offer a fixed price bespoke legal service for the insurance company’s business protection customers. Life-time Legal Services specialises in a range of legal services, including estate, small business, tax and trust law (including probate) and has been active in these fields for over 16 years. The
new service, endorsed by Legal & General, provides financial advisers with an expert legal solution to offer to their clients.
———————————————
Bancassurance News
Accident / health insurance
ING announces co-operation
with VGZ for health insur-
ance
In the Netherlands, ING Bank has
announced a partnership with health
insurer VGZ to provide ING’s cus-
tomers with a discounted health plan.
ING clients are entitled to a 10% dis-
count on VGZ Health Insurance pur-
chased through ING. This will offer
ING customers potentially the cheap-
est basic health coverage in the Neth-
erlands. The discount is applicable to
basic health coverage as well as on
additional extended health policies,
excluding dental care.
———————————————
Assistance
Solid Försäkringar links with
Ikano Bank for road assis-
tance
Solid Försäkringar, the Swedish under-
writer of niche insurance products, has
signed an agreement with Ikano Bank
for the marketing of breakdown recov-
ery insurance through Ikano Bank’s
Swedish website. The product will also
be promoted through the newsletter
that Ikano Bank regularly sends to its
customers.
———————————————
Life insurance / retirement savings
Ageas and Sabanci jointly in-
crease their stake in Aksigor-
ta
In Turkey, Ageas and Haci Ömer
Sabanci Holding (Sabanci) have an-
nounced an agreement to acquire addi-
tional shares in Aksigorta to further
strengthen the partnership between the
two groups. Already the owners of
30.99% of the shares in Aksigorta, the
intention of both parties is to acquire,
within a 12-month period, an equal
number of shares in Aksigorta through
the Istanbul Stock Exchange. The
number of shares acquired will be de-
pendent upon the share price evolu-
tion of Aksigorta, but will not exceed
10% of the total number of shares
outstanding.
Allianz signs agreement with
Sberbank for the acquisition
of Allianz Life
In Russia, Sberbank and Allianz have
agreed on key terms for the acquisition
of Allianz Life by the bank. The trans-
action involves the acquisition by Sber-
bank of 100% of the share capital in
Allianz Life by the end of 2011. How-
ever, the price of the transaction was
not disclosed. According to Sberbank,
the main objective for the acquisition
is to participate more fully in the de-
velopment of the savings and invest-
ment insurance market in Russia. Alli-
anz, on the other hand, will focus on
the development of a separate compa-
ny, Allianz ROSNO Life, in Russia.
Bancassurance
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Aviva and DBS launch first
Renminbi-denominated in-
surance plan
In Singapore, Aviva and DBS have
launched the ‘Dragon Renminbi Plan’,
S i n g a p o r e ’ s f i r s t R e n m i n b i -
denominated insurance plan. This can
be purchased at DBS branches with a
single premium of RMB 250,000, has a
five-year duration and is structured as
a non-participating endowment plan.
Underwritten by Aviva, it is intended
that the product will allow investors to
take advantage of opportunities on
offer in the rapidly developing Chinese
market. DBS anticipates strong de-
mand for the product having launched
current and fixed-deposit accounts,
currency-linked investments, and
Renminbi-denominated bonds, unit
trusts and structured notes earlier in
2011.
Aviva and DBS have maintained a
bancassurance partnership since 2001
with this having been a significant con-
tributor to the growth of Aviva’s busi-
ness in Singapore. Indeed, third quar-
ter results for 2011 showed that
Aviva’s total life insurance sales grew
by 65%, with sales via the bancassur-
ance channel having tripled when com-
pared to the corresponding period for
2010.
San Miniato Previdenza to be
merged into Cattolica As-
sicurazioni
In Italy, Cattolica Assicurazioni has
announced that it will integrate the
business of San Miniato Previdenza
within its main structure with the goal
of achieving greater competitiveness.
Originally, established as a life insur-
ance joint venture between Cassa di
Risparmio di San Miniato and Cattoli-
ca, the insurer subsequently bought
out the savings bank’s stake.
HSBC receives permission to
expand bancassurance opera-
tions in China
HSBC Life – which is a joint venture
between HSBC Insurance (Asia) and
Beijing-based The National Trust ac-
tive in Shanghai since 2009 – has been
granted a license allowing it to also
operate in Beijing. HSBC’s expanded
insurance presence in China will enable
customers of HSBC Bank and Hang
Seng Bank (another HSBC subsidiary)
to access a comprehensive range of
insurance solutions across 14 branches
in Beijing. Insurance policies will be
available covering life and health pro-
tection, educational savings, invest-
ments and retirement. HSBC’s insur-
ance offering in China is primarily
aimed at affluent and high net worth
customers, and Beijing is a key location
for this demographic.
Legal & General extends
bancassurance relationship
with Barclays
In the UK, Legal & General has dis-
closed that it is now providing all life
and critical illness insurance protection
cover for the retail customers of Bar-
clays on an advised basis. The new
arrangement builds on the mortgage
protection distribution arrangement
that Legal & General and Barclays
have had in place since 2001.
Liberty Group partners with
Standard Bank for direct life
insurance
In South Africa, Standard Bank has
launched a new range of direct life
insurance products underwritten by
the Liberty Group incorporating life,
disability, serious illness and salary
protection cover. Standard Bank has
already sold around 4 million insurance
policies to its South African customers,
mainly in the areas of credit life, funer-
al expenses, and household cover.
Prudential ties with Citibank
for Vietnamese bancassur-
ance
In Vietnam, Citibank has established a
new bancassurance partnership with
Prudential Vietnam Assurance, a sub-
sidiary of the UK’s Prudential. Specifi-
cally, a range of life, health, investment
and retirement policies have been
available at all Citi branches in Hanoi
and Ho Chi Minh since the beginning
of November 2011.
———————————————
Niche insurance
SPB enhances retailer bank’s
Visa cards with new features
In France, SPB has developed a com-
prehensive range of insurance solu-
tions for the Visa Premier and Visa
Plus cards offered by Banque Edel, the
banking arm of the E. Leclerc, one of
France’s leading retailing groups. Both
cards include services that fit with new
consumer habits such as online shop-
ping and the purchase of mobile and
high-tech products, and as a result,
SPB claims that the Visa Edel cards are
the most feature-rich ones on the mar-
ket.
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For EUR 2 a month, the Visa Plus
Edel card offers services such as a two
-year full-refund guarantee in the event
of TV breakdown, cover for tears and
stains on clothing, purchase protection
insurance, refunds in the event of non-
delivery of online purchases, protec-
tion against fraudulent use of SIM
cards, identity theft protection
(including legal protection up to EUR
20,000 which is considered apt as
210,000 cases of identity theft are re-
ported each year in France).
The Visa Premier Edel card extends
these covers to purchases made from
stores outside the E. Leclerc chain and
offers extra services for EUR 4 per
month, namely missed event insurance
(pre-booked tickets are refunded if the
ticketholder cannot attend the event)
and ‘e-reputation protection’ to help
internet users whose online image and
reputation have been harmed.
———————————————
Product insurance / warranties
Barclaycard launches new
suite of product insurance
policies
In the UK, and through its partnership
with Assurant Solutions, Barclaycard
has launched a new suite of insurance
products covering gadgets and kitchen
appliances. Through its new gadget
insurance proposition, it is providing
cover against accidental damage, tech-
nical breakdown, theft and unauthor-
ised usage for a range of gadgets under
36 months old. The cost of mobile
phone insurance begins at GBP 1.49
per month with iPhone cover at GBP
5.99 per month. Barclaycard is also
providing cover for kitchen appliances
up to eight years old, protecting
against electrical or mechanical break-
down.
Fiditalia ties with Société Gé-
nérale Insurance for used car
extended warranties
In Italy, Fiditalia and Société Générale
Insurance (two sister companies within
the Société Générale grouping) have
launched ‘SenzaSosta’, a new extended
warranty policy for used cars. Custom-
ers acquiring used vehicles through
Fiditalia are given the opportunity to
subscribe to the policy which will cov-
er mechanical and technical defects for
up to seven years. The scheme in-
cludes different levels of coverage and
offers modular policies based on the
vehicle’s age: ‘Garanzia Motore’ for
engine breakdown and ‘Garanzia Es-
tesa’ for recently purchased or stand-
ard used cars which also includes cover
for electronic and mechanical parts
other than the engine as well as road
assistance.
———————————————
General
Manulife signs a new frame-
work agreement with Bank of
China…
Manulife Financial has further
strengthened its strategic and opera-
tional ties with Bank of China by sign-
ing a new agreement that will remain
in force for at least two years. Through
this deal, the two organisations are
committed to working together in a
number of mutually-beneficial areas,
including bancassurance.
China has for a long time been an im-
portant market for Manulife, which
established a joint venture insurance
company called Manulife-Sinochem
Life (MSL) there in 1996. MSL now
serves around 650,000 policyholders
and, during 2011, its insurance prod-
ucts began to be distributed via Bank
of China’s branches in Beijing, Shang-
hai, Shenzhen, Guangdong, Jiangsu
and Zhejiang.
This new framework agreement will
pave the way for greater collaboration
between the two groups, in both this
and other retail banking areas. For
example, Bank of China acts as a cus-
todian and distributor for Manulife’s
joint venture fund management com-
pany, Manulife-TEDA Fund Manage-
ment, in which Northern International
Trust & Investment Corporation also
holds a stake.
…and also partners with a
new bancassurance distribu-
tor in Indonesia
A number of Manulife Indonesia’s
insurance and wealth management
products will be made available to cus-
tomers of Danamon Bank from July
2012, when a recently-signed bancas-
surance partnership between these two
firms is due to come into effect. Dana-
mon operates a network of more than
2,300 branches and serves a broad
range of both lower- and middle-
income personal customers, as well as
businesses. It is also Indonesia’s sole
issuer and acquirer of American Ex-
press payment cards. Manulife Indone-
sia is currently represented in 24 cities
across the country, where it employs
around 8,000 people and has approxi-
mately 1.5 million policies in force.
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———————————————
Affinity Banking News
Affinity bank accounts
Britannia extends affinity re-
lationship with Stoke City
F.C.
In the UK, Britannia, part of the Co-
operative Bank, has launched a new
current account in partnership with
Stoke City F.C.. The ‘Current Account
Plus’, which has no monthly subscrip-
tion charge and includes a fee-free
overdraft, has been designed for Stoke
City supporters, who are also poten-
tially entitled to receive a GBP 100
cash bonus. Additionally, the bank will
give away Stoke City-themed prizes to
customers holding this branded ac-
count. Britannia has worked with
Stoke City to provide financial services
to club supporters since 1997, and also
offers junior and adult ‘Save and Sup-
port’ accounts for the club’s fans.
———————————————
Automotive finance
Ally Financial and MG Motor
form partnership in the UK
MG Motor, the UK sports car manu-
facturer owned by the Chinese SAIC
Group, has selected GMAC UK, a
subsidiary of Ally Financial, as its pre-
ferred financing provider for manufac-
turer programs and standard rate fi-
nance. Specifically, GMAC UK will
provide financing to MG customers
under the MG Financial Services
brand. GMAC UK is already the part-
ner of Vauxhall, Chevrolet and Saab in
the UK. However, the new deal with
MG Motor extends only to retail car
finance for private customers not to
wholesale financing for dealers.
AXA and Banco Pastor sup-
port the CESPA LUBRI-
CANTES’ network of garages
In Spain, Banco Pastor and AXA have
joined forces with CESPA LUBRI-
CANTES to offer help with finance
and insurance for workshops in the
‘Órbita CEPSA’ network. This has
been introduced in response to the
difficulties faced by small and medium-
sized companies in getting finance in
the troubled economic environment.
In partnership with Banco Pastor, the-
se workshops are offered finance on
preferential terms and commission-
free banking. Safety is also an im-
portant factor for such garages so a
second deal sees AXA offer compre-
hensive motor trade insurance for
them.
Aston Martin offers US cus-
tomers retail ‘subvention fi-
nancing’ from Chase
In the US, Chase Auto Finance (a sub-
sidiary of JPMorgan Chase & Co.) has
been selected by the UK luxury car
manufacturer Aston Martin to provide
retail ‘subvention financing’ for its
range of vehicles. This new scheme
will allow Aston Martin's 32 participat-
ing dealers in the US to provide their
customers with more attractive interest
rates to finance new vehicle purchases.
Chase Auto Finance offers a range of
prime and sub-prime financing options
to the automotive industry, along with
dealer floor plan, commercial banking
and treasury services.
GMAC-SAIC named pre-
ferred finance provider for
new Baojun brand in China
SGM-Wuling, a three-way joint ven-
ture between General Motors, Liuzhou
Wuling Motors and Shanghai Automo-
tive Industry Corporation (SAIC) in
China, has announced that it has ap-
pointed GMAC-SAIC as the preferred
finance provider for its new passenger
vehicle brand Baojun. The agreement
includes both wholesale financing for
dealers to fund their inventory and
retail financing for customers. The
Baojun brand was launched by SGM-
Wuling in late 2010 with the first mod-
els being sold in the summer of 2011.
SGM Wuling said it expected sales of
about 20,000 Baojun models by the
end of 2011.
GMAC-SAIC is itself a joint venture
between Ally Financial (formerly
GMAC), Shanghai Automotive Group
Finance and Shanghai General Motors
(Shanghai GM). It is one of the largest
automotive finance providers in China
and acts as the partner of the Shanghai
GM brands in the country.
Santander Consumer Bank re
-enforces German car finance
partnerships
In Germany, Santander Consumer
Bank has strengthened its position in
the market for manufacturer-branded
automotive finance and leasing ser-
vices through relationships with three
brands.
Firstly, in conjunction with the Infiniti
luxury brand owned by Nissan, it has
introduced Infiniti Finance as a specif-
ic trading style. This follows on from
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the launch of the Infiniti brand in Ger-
many in 2009 and aims to support a
significant increase in sales by 2016
through both an expanded dealer net-
work and the introduction of new
models. Dealer finance will be provid-
ed as well as consumer finance.
Secondly, it has disclosed a new part-
nership with Volvo, starting from the
beginning of 2012, which will also
encompass finance and leasing prod-
ucts for both consumers and dealers.
Finally, it is expanding a long-standing
relationship with KTM Sportmotorcy-
cle with the introduction of the KTM
Finance trading style, again with the
focus on the provision of financial
services for both consumers and deal-
ers. KTM is a leading manufacturer of
off-road sports motorcycles and has
around 1,400 dealers globally, of
whom 140 are active in Germany itself.
Santander Consumer Finance
drives into Chinese joint ven-
ture
Moreover, Santander Consumer Fi-
nance has announced the creation of a
joint venture with Chinese car manu-
facturer Anhui Jianghuai Automobile
Company (JAC), for the provision of
automotive financial services in China.
Under the terms of the agreement,
JAC and Santander Consumer Finance
will each hold a 50% stake in the new
company which will have initial capital
of CNY 500 million (about EUR 58
million). The new company will pro-
vide financial products through JAC’s
network of more than 1,000 dealer-
ships, taking advantage of the expertise
of Santander Consumer Finance in this
field, which is itself based on the fact
that it finances the purchase of around
1.3 million vehicles each year across
the 14 countries in which it is active.
Moreover, the company will also be
able to finance other passenger car and
commercial vehicle brands.
———————————————
Business banking
Banco Popolare backs fi-
nance scheme for women in
the agri-business sector
In Italy, CreditAgri Italia and Coldiretti
Donne Impresa, an association repre-
senting entrepreneurial women in
charge of companies in the agri-
business sector, have created a financ-
ing scheme in partnership with Banco
Popolare. By means of the scheme,
financing can amount to between EUR
10,000 and EUR 30,000 granted for a
variety of purposes and with a duration
of from 36 to 60 months preceded by
a six month period during which inter-
est-only repayments are required.
Banques Populaires sign
agreement to facilitate fi-
nance of artisans
In France, the Banques Populaires
grouping has signed the first partner-
ship agreement to facilitate the financ-
ing of artisans with two leading associ-
ations, SOCAMA (Sociétés de Caution
Mutuelle et Artisanale) and FFCGEA
(Fédération Française des Associations
de Gestion et de Comptabilité et des
Centres de Gestion d’Economie de
l’Artisanat). The Banques Populaires
and SOCAMA, finance, guarantee and
support small businesses, while the
FCGEA wishes to improve access to
credit and financial support for arti-
sans.
These three institutions have pooled
their respective expertise to support
artisans belonging to the FFCGEA
through a partnership agreement. The
main objectives of this agreement are:
to improve the handling of requests
for finance by an online tool that
transmits these requests between the
Banque Populaire and the management
units of the FFCGEA; to protect the
private assets of entrepreneurs through
loans that eliminate or limit personal
liability; and to improve actions to
prevent artisans from running into
difficulties.
———————————————
Co-branded cards
ANZ and SRCB combine for
new co-branded credit card in
China
Australia and New Zealand Banking
Group Limited (ANZ) and Shanghai
Rural Commercial Bank (SRCB) have
launched a new co-branded ‘Platinum
and World Travel’ card, available in
China for clients of both banks. The
card combines a China UnionPay
‘RMB Priority Platinum’ card with a
MasterCard ‘USD World’ card to pro-
vide a premium dual card and dual
currency package.
Cardholders are entitled to a number
of travel-related benefits including
airport lounge services, travel insur-
ance, membership of air mileage pro-
grams and special merchant offers
from China UnionPay, MasterCard
and the ‘ANZ Spot’ program, as well
as complimentary services including a
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chauffeur service and free medical
check-up.
ANZ and SRCB began working closely
together in 2010, and combine ANZ’s
experience in the premium card indus-
try with SRCB’s retail customer base
of close to 7 million accounts, with a
distribution network of over 330 out-
lets in Shanghai, and Hunan and
Zhejiang provinces. ANZ has been a
partner of SRCB since 2007 and now
holds a 20% stake in the Chinese bank.
Consel and Genertel launch
new co-branded credit card
In Italy, Consel and Genertel, General-
i’s online insurance arm, have devel-
oped the Genertel Visa credit card
designed to fund the insurer’s life in-
surance products. Credit repayments
can be made across ten months with
no interest charged. Moreover, the
card is free-fee is accepted at more
than 600,000 points of sale across the
country. Consel is a consumer finance
company jointly owned by Banca Sella
and Alleanza Toro, a subsidiary of
Generali.
Caisse d’Epargne pilots
transport card with Veolia
Transdev in Reims
An innovation from the Caisse
d'Epargne Lorraine Champagne-
Ardenne in partnership with Veolia
Transdev in France is the ‘Citevia’
card, which has been used to pay for
bus and tram fares in Reims on a trial
basis from November 2011. This card
can be used as a normal prepaid bank
card (including contactless payments)
and as a transport card. All types of
transport ticket can be loaded onto the
card in Reims.
Anyone can acquire this card at a
Caisse d'Epargne branch without
needing to have a current account as a
simple supporting account is opened
to enable customers to recharge it. It
can also be used as a prepaid Visa card
at all merchants accepting Visa, in
France and internationally, while the
contactless payment facility has a limit
of EUR 20. 750 consumers will trial
the card for the first year.
Lloyds TSB re-launches
Avios co-branded credit cards
In the UK, and in conjunction with
travel rewards program Avios
(formerly Airmiles UK), Lloyds TSB
has re-launched its ‘Duo’ and ‘Premier
Duo’ American Express and Master-
Card co-branded credit cards. As part
of the re-launch, the new versions will
offer up to 10,000 bonus ‘Avios’ (the
new name for ‘Miles’) to new custom-
ers who spend at least GBP 500 each
month during their first three months
of holding the card. It was hoped that
this incentive would prove popular
given that it coincides with Christmas.
Targo Bank issues co-
branded card in association
with German TV company
In Germany, Targo Bank has launched
a new co-branded credit card in associ-
ation with a subsidiary of the ProSie-
benSat1 television group. The new
‘ProSieben Entertainment’ card is the
first German co-branded credit card
promoted by a bank in association
with a major TV company, according
to the two partners. Targo Bank said
that it expects that the new credit card
will enable it to reach many young
people in Germany who are regular
viewers of the ProSieben television
channel. The bank added that it has set
up an advertising budget of more than
EUR 20 million to promote the card
over the next three years.
———————————————
Inter-bank card distribution
American Express establishes
card issuing partnership with
Bank of China...
American Express and Bank of China
have unveiled a new strategic partner-
ship, whereby Bank of China will begin
issuing credit cards carrying the Ameri-
can Express brand in China targeting
its base of private banking customers.
The new card offers a range of bene-
fits including premier banking services,
access to premium golf courses, fast-
tracking through immigration and se-
curity at selected airports and access to
lounges in major airports around the
world. Cardholders can also enjoy
privileges across an array of hotels
through the American Express ‘Entre’
program, as well as offers from mer-
chants around the world through
American Express ‘Selects’. In addi-
tion, the card provides access to a 24-
hour concierge service, comprehensive
overseas relocation services, and
healthcare and wellness services pro-
vided by Raffles Medical Group.
... and with KB Kookmin
Card in South Korea
In South Korea, American Express
and KB Kookmin Card, the second
largest card issuer in the country with
around 20 million cards in circulation
(equivalent to a market share of
around 14%), have disclosed that the
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latter will become an issuer of cards
carrying the former’s brand. Specifical-
ly, KB Kookmin Card will issue ‘super
premium’ cards that will target its high
net worth customer base and offer a
wide range of benefits both locally in
South Korea and abroad. In fact, by
means of the partnership, American
Express and KB Kookmin Card hope
to expand their presence among the
growing number of affluent consumers
in South Korea. KB Kookmin Card
will be responsible for all operations
supporting the issuance of the cards,
including billing and payment systems,
accounting, customer service, credit
management and charge authorisa-
tions, as well as the actual marketing of
the cards.
Diners Club International
partners with HDFC Bank in
India
Diners Club International has entered
into a strategic alliance with HDFC
Bank, India’s second-largest privately-
owned bank. Under the new agree-
ment, HDFC Bank will not only issue
Diners Club credit cards, but will also
provide the related merchant acquiring
services. This latter fact is likely to
dramatically increase the acceptance
and usability of Diners Club cards
across India, where the number of
middle-class and wealthy individuals is
growing rapidly.
Japan’s Mizuho Financial
Group enters into partnership
with China UnionPay
Three Japanese subsidiaries of Mizuho
Financial Group (namely Credit
Saison, Mizuho Bank and UC Card)
have entered into a collaborative agree-
ment with the China-based payment
card network, China UnionPay. Credit
Saison and UC Card have already be-
gun working to improve the ac-
ceptance of UnionPay cards at retail
outlets in Japan, and plans to allow
UnionPay cardholders to execute cash
withdrawals and balance enquiries at
Mizuho Bank’s network of ATMs are
also under way. Similarly, Mizuho
Bank is exploring the possibility of
offering UnionPay cards to its Japa-
nese customers. In light of the rapidly
increasing mutual tourism between
China and Japan, and also with large
numbers of Japanese firms seeking to
do business in China, both parties
hope to benefit from developing finan-
cial products that will facilitate easier
cross-border payments and foreign
transactions.
———————————————
Mobile payments
Barclaycard and Orange
launch new mobile payments
handset in the UK
In the UK, Barclaycard and Orange
have announced the launch of the
second ‘Quick Tap’ handset. The Sam-
sung ‘Wave 578’ is available exclusively
from Orange, and comes after the
introduction of the Samsung ‘Tocco
Quick Tap’ earlier in 2011. Customers
can transfer funds of up to GBP 100
to their contactless mobile payment
account, after which the phone is
ready to make payments of GBP 15
and under simply by tapping their
‘Quick Tap’ mobile handset against a
contactless reader at over 50,000 mer-
chant outlets, including EAT, McDon-
ald’s, Pret A Manger and Subway.
BNP Paribas Mobile is
launched in conjunction with
Orange
The strategic alliance between BNP
Paribas and Orange signed in July 2011
and noted in the Summer 2011 edition
of Finaccord’s Global Affinity Finance
Club has been launched in November
2011. BNP Paribas Mobile enables
customers in France to carry out nor-
mal banking services through their
mobile phones and offers the latest
mobile payments capability for both
proximity payments and person-to-
person payments. The service is of-
fered on powerful smartphones includ-
ing those equipped for NFC (near field
communication) for contactless pay-
ments, and has four subscription op-
tions. NFC technology can be used by
customers with the ‘Cityzi’ mobile
through the ‘KIX’ service; this oper-
ates currently in Nice and Strasbourg,
with a launch planned for four more
cities in 2012.
Crédit Agricole commences
mobile contactless payment
pilot in France
Also in France, Crédit Agricole and
Visa Europe have launched a new pilot
for mobile payments based on Mi-
croSD (micro secure digital card) tech-
nology developed by Visa Europe.
This pilot forms part of the develop-
ment of mobile contactless payments
in France, and extends previous trials
conducted in Nice in 2010 and Stras-
bourg in September 2011; it is taking
place in Caen and run by the Norman-
dy-based subsidiary of Crédit Agricole
from December 2011 to June 2012.
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In fact, from December 2011, 200 of
Crédit Agricole’s customers and em-
ployees have been testing this new
payment solution, using a MicroSD
card that contains a Visa secure pay-
ment application. Customers receive a
case containing the MicroSD card
which is then integrated with an iPh-
one, and its NFC (Near Field Commu-
nication) functionality becomes active
when the user downloads the ‘Express
Mobile Payment Application’ from the
online Apple store.
They can then make purchases of up
to the value of EUR 20 from all mer-
chants accepting Visa contactless pay-
ments in the vicinity of Caen by bring-
ing their mobile phones close to the
payment terminal. Crédit Agricole and
its subsidiary Cedicam have chosen
Gemalto to customize the MicroSD
cards, and to support the pilot; mean-
while, the MicroSD card and dedicated
iPhone case are provided by Device
Fidelity.
HDFC Bank and Vodafone
launch mobile banking prod-
uct for rural communities
In India, HDFC Bank and Vodafone
have launched a new mobile banking
initiative that aims to make retail bank-
ing services available to millions of
unbanked consumers. The use of mo-
bile telephones for banking and m-
commerce is widely regarded as one of
the leading drivers of financial inclu-
sion among India’s largely rural popu-
lation, and this new product – called
the ‘MobileBank Account with Voda-
fone m-paisa’ – allows customers to
carry out basic transactions using their
mobile handsets. Significantly, custom-
ers will also be able make cash deposits
and withdrawals at appointed Voda-
fone m-paisa outlets (local retailers
that can effectively then act as sub-
agents for HDFC Bank) without hav-
ing to visit an actual bank branch. This
service is already up and running
across the state of Rajasthan, where
around 2,200 retailers in 320 villages
and 54 towns are able to offer these
services.
MasterCard links with Etisa-
lat for launch of new mobile
payments service
In the UAE, MasterCard has joined
forces with both Etisalat, a telecoms
provider in the Middle East, Africa
and Asia, and Research in Motion, the
m a n u f a c t u r e r o f B l a c k b e r r y
smartphones, for the launch of pay-
ments empowered with NFC (near
field communication) technology. Net-
work International and Oberthur
Technologies are also supporting the
development of this service. It is antic-
ipated that this launch will enhance the
ease, security and speed with which
consumers make daily payments as
those with an enabled smartphone
(obtainable from Etisalat) will simply
need to tap it at any MasterCard
‘PayPass’ terminal in order to complete
their purchase by virtue of the fact that
it will be linked to their MasterCard
credit, debit or prepaid card.
MasterCard facilitates intro-
duction of prepaid contact-
less wristwatch
In the UK, MasterCard has created a
partnership with wristwatch manufac-
turer LAKS and Vincento, a company
specialising in prepaid solutions, to
introduce a wristwatch incorporating a
MasterCard ‘PayPass’ facility, the
country’s first ever prepaid contactless
wristwatch, that allows users to make
contactless payments for a value of up
to GBP 15 at more than 70,000 retail-
ers. According to MasterCard, contact-
less wristwatches are already in use in
Poland, Turkey and a number of mar-
kets in Asia and the new ‘Watch2pay’
product builds on the growing demand
for contactless payments and prepaid
cards in the UK, which respectively
offer consumers greater security than
cash and allow them to segment and
set budgets for different spending
needs. Worldwide, MasterCard has
issued nearly 100 million cards and
other devices enabled with a ‘PayPass’
contactless facility. The wristwatch can
be acquired online and comes with a
reloadable MasterCard prepaid card
which is not linked to a bank account
or any line of credit and can, therefore,
help users to budget more effectively
and avoid getting into debt.
MasterCard and Telefónica
team up for Brazilian mobile
finance joint venture
In Brazil, MasterCard and Telefónica
have announced the creation of a joint
venture to offer mobile financial solu-
tions for 65 million customers of the
Vivo mobile telecoms brand. The initi-
ative will create a mobile wallet allow-
ing consumers to make payments via
their mobile phones as well as to trans-
fer funds, pay bills and make online
purchases. The service is intended to
promote financial inclusion for Brazili-
an consumers allowing operations
between banked and un-banked con-
sumers and fostering the acceptance of
mobile payments in locations that tra-
ditionally have only accepted cash
transactions, such as taxis and delivery
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services as well as direct sales such as
door-to-door transactions. The new
company will operate independently
with each shareholder holding 50% of
the equity.
———————————————
Money transfers
MasterCard and Western Un-
ion establish global payments
alliance
MasterCard and Western Union have
finalised a global agreement that they
hope will make electronic payments,
including prepaid cards and money
transfers, more efficient and conven-
ient for consumers around the world.
The two partners estimate that around
2.5 billion adults worldwide are finan-
cially under-served, and that within the
US, more than a quarter of the adult
population is excluded from the finan-
cial mainstream. However, they con-
sider that financial services such as
money transfers and prepaid cards are
helping to improve access for these
constituencies.
The global relationship makes Master-
Card the preferred brand for prepaid
programs sponsored by Western Un-
ion around the world and establish
Western Union as the preferred money
transfer service for MasterCard. In
fact, consumers will have access to a
global network to transfer and load
funds onto prepaid cards, and custom-
ers with MasterCard or Western Union
prepaid cards will be able to reload
these at MasterCard ‘rePower’ loca-
tions as well as at participating West-
ern Union agent outlets.
Furthermore, the two partners are
attempting to simplify the transfer of
money for consumers by making their
electronic payment networks interop-
erable. In particular, consumers using
Western Union for money transfer
services will be able to arrange for a
money transfer to go directly to an
eligible MasterCard product. Senders
will also be able to pay for money
transfers using a card or account
backed by the MasterCard brand and
to move funds through a participating
Western Union agent location.
Western Union enters into
new international remittance
agreements...
In the Nordic countries, Western Un-
ion has announced an agreement with
FOREX Bank to offer money transfer
services. FOREX will offer the West-
ern Union service at 100 agent loca-
tions in Denmark, Finland, Norway
and Sweden. Moreover, in the US,
Western Union has signed a prepaid
agreement with 7-Eleven to offer con-
sumers the ability to obtain the
‘Western Union MoneyWise’ general
purpose reloadable prepaid card at 7-
Eleven store locations. The card will
be available at select 7-Eleven US retail
locations from early 2012.
...and extends partnership
with Société Générale’s inter-
national retail business
In addition, Western Union has also
enlarged its partnership with Société
Générale by means of which the for-
mer’s money transfer service will be
introduced by the bank in new coun-
tries across Europe. Subsidiaries of
Société Générale already offer Western
Union’s services in more than 2,500
locations across 25 countries and the
agreement is an extension of the two
companies' successful collaboration in
Europe and Africa.
———————————————
Mortgages
GMAC Mortgage to offer re-
ward program in association
with Loan Value Group
In the US, GMAC Mortgage, a subsid-
iary of Ally Financial, has announced
that it has teamed up with the Loan
Value Group to offer the ‘Responsible
Homeowner Reward’ (‘RH Reward’)
program to a group of Veterans Ad-
ministration customers who are up-to-
date on their mortgage payments but
have seen a significant decline in the
value of their homes. The program
returns a portion of their lost equity in
exchange for continued, timely mort-
gage payments.
‘RH Reward’ is designed to encourage
homeowners to avoid default and pos-
sible foreclosure by offering a cash
reward when specific payment mile-
stones are met. The program is meant
to provide an incentive without chang-
ing the terms of the original mortgage
contract or requiring additional docu-
mentation or disclosures by the home-
owner. Participation in the program is
voluntary and there is no cost to the
homeowner.
GMAC Mortgage has offered the pilot
program to more than 4,000 military
borrowers and their families who have
obtained a mortgage loan guaranteed
through the Veterans Administration.
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For a fixed period of time following
enrolment, each month the homeown-
er makes their payment on time, an
additional reward is credited to their
‘RH Reward’ account. When the loan
is fully paid off, if all required payment
milestones have been met, the home-
owner will receive a cheque from
GMAC Mortgage for the full balance
of their ‘RH Reward’ account.
———————————————
Retailer banking
BMO Bank of Montreal and
Canadian retailer unveil two
co-branded accounts
In Canada, BMO Bank of Montreal
has launched two new co-branded
bank accounts in association with retail
group Sobeys, whose grocery brands
(which include Foodland, FreshCo,
IGA and Thrifty Foods) account for
around 1,300 stores across the country.
One of these co-branded accounts is a
fee-free current account, whereas the
other is a high-interest savings ac-
counts. Both accounts come with a
debit card and also allow consumers to
accumulate Club Sobeys reward points
or AIR MILES in various ways, alt-
hough the exact configurations (and
names) of these products will vary
slightly between regions.
Rabobank’s US subsidiary
expands cash access by part-
nering with Walgreens
Rabobank America (the California-
based subsidiary of the eponymous
Dutch banking group) has expanded
its local and state-wide banking net-
work through a new partnership with
the Walgreens chain of retail stores.
Rabobank itself has around 120
branches and 160 ATMs across Cali-
fornia, but customers will also now be
able to use ATMs at more than 500
Walgreens stores without paying any
service charges.
———————————————
Retailer cards
American Express forges link
with Japanese retailer card
issuer…
In Japan, MI Card Company, a card
issuing subsidiary of the Isetan
Mitsukoshi department store grouping,
and American Express, have launched
a new retailer card carrying the Ameri-
can Express marque. The card carries
an array of benefits including discount
offers at its department stores, a re-
ward program, exclusive travel and
entertainment benefits, and luxury
offers.
…and launches prepaid card
for US retail chain
In the US, American Express has
launched a reloadable prepaid card
with no monthly or maintenance fees
in conjunction with the Target retail
chain, which has more than 1,000 out-
lets across the country. The card is
available at participating Target stores
and funds can be loaded at the register
using multiple loading options with the
ability to reload in-store, online or by
phone. Features of the card include
packaged purchase protection insur-
ance, and both road and travel assis-
tance.
Caisse d’Epargne launches
multi-retailer prepaid gift
card
In France, the Caisse d’Epargne bank-
ing group has launched the
‘CADOCARTE’ card, a prepaid gift
card that can be charged for purchases
across a network of nearly 50 retail
partners including Conforama, Darty
and FNAC, representing a total of
5 , 0 0 0 p o i n t s o f s a l e . T h e
‘CADOCARTE’ is available as a single
purchase (non-rechargeable) gift card
for an amount ranging from EUR 30
to 150, and is free of charge except for
checking balances by SMS (EUR 0.50)
and administration fees for cards that
exceed their expiry date by more than
a year. It is supported by a website that
lists retail partners and gives cardhold-
ers a statement of their transactions.
Citigroup unveils new initia-
tives in the Czech Republic
and the Philippines…
In the Czech Republic, Citi has intro-
duced a new contactless co-branded
credit card for customers shopping at
the Metropole Zlicin shopping centre
and other locations. In particular, card-
holders receive cashback of 2%, in the
form of ‘Citi Life Premiums’, on pur-
chases with a value of up to CZK
2,000 each month. ‘Citi Life Premi-
ums’ can then be drawn in the form of
shopping vouchers with a denomina-
tion of either CZK 500 or CZK 1,000
that can be used at all outlets in the
Metropole Zlicin shopping centre. In
addition, cardholders can also obtain
discounts of up to 25% on goods and
services acquired from Citi Club mer-
chant stores, which number almost
200 across the Czech Republic, includ-
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Global Affinity Finance Club
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ing the Apanage, Blažek, Delmas, Eif-
fel Optic, Mania, Stones and Top Time
outlets in the Metropole Zlicin centre
itself.
Meanwhile, in the Philippines, Citibank
has introduced new benefits attached
to the retailer card issued in partner-
ship with Mercury Drug. Specifically,
four leading hospitals (Asian Hospital,
Makati Medical Center, St. Luke’s
Medical Center and The Medical City)
have agreed to offer a discount of up
to 10% for various services acquired
from them by cardholders, including
hospital bills, inpatient pharmacy pur-
chases and laboratory services. In addi-
tion, cardholders also benefit from a
free annual physical check-up at
Healthway Medical.
… and renews major retailer
card relationships in the US
In the US, Citibank has announced a
multi-year renewal of its private label
credit card relationship with Sunoco, a
fuel retail network, which has been in
place since 2004. This follows on from
the launch shortly before of a new
rewards card that provides discount of
USD 0.05 per gallon on purchases of
fuel through Sunoco.
Also in the US, and in the wake of a
partnership established originally in
2003, Citi has agreed a multi-year re-
newal of its private label credit card
agreement with Sears Holdings Corpo-
ration, the country’s fourth largest
retail group. Sears Holdings' retail
brands include Kmart and Lands' End
as well as Sears, a leading home appli-
ance retailer in North America with
over 2,200 branded outlets.
Desjardins takes control of
Staples Canada’s credit card
portfolio
In an agreement due to be finalised
early in 2012, Desjardins Card Services
(DCS) will acquire a substantial part of
Staples Canada’s store card portfolio.
In addition to purchasing the out-
standing receivables and client ac-
counts that are currently being man-
aged by Citi Cards Canada, DCS will
also make its point-of-sale financing
option (known as ‘Accord D’) available
at all 330 Staples outlets nationwide.
Part of the Desjardins Group, DCS is
the largest provider of credit and debit
card solutions in Quebec, and the fifth
-largest in the rest of Canada; of its
55,000 merchants across the country, it
states that 7,000 currently offer the
‘Accord D’ point-of-sale financing
product.
Western Union extends pre-
paid platform to the UK
Western Union has announced that it
is extending its prepaid card platform
to the UK with the launch of both a
Western Union MasterCard gift card
and the ‘GoCash’ prepaid card service,
providing consumers with new ways to
share money with friends, family and
other acquaintances at any time. The
launch marks the first international
extension of Western Union’s prepaid
program outside of the US with fur-
ther expansion planned in coming
months to Asia, Latin America and
additional European countries. As one
of the leading retailers of gift cards in
the UK, WHSmith is now stocking
one or both products at over 500 high
street and travel stores across the
country.
The MasterCard gift card is available in
face value denominations of GBP 30
or GBP 50, can be purchased for a one
-time fee and includes ‘Chip@PIN’
functionality making it among the
most secure gift cards available in the
UK.
Moreover, an agreement with In-
Comm, a distributor of stored-value
gift and prepaid cards, makes way for
the expansion of the Western Union
‘GoCash’ service, a prepaid money
transfer service. By means of this ser-
vice, consumers have the option to
select packages with any of three pre-
paid amounts: GBP 50, GBP 100 or
GBP 200. The ‘GoCash’ service can be
used for both domestic and interna-
tional money transfers. Once pur-
chased, the sender needs to complete
the transaction by telephone through a
Western Union customer service rep-
resentative and to provide the money
transfer information to the receiver.
———————————————
Retailer finance
La Redoute and Crédit
Agricole Consumer Finance
replace cards with online fi-
nance
Two new services have been devel-
oped by Crédit Agricole Consumer
Finance for La Redoute in France to
replace the ‘Kangourou’ card. La Re-
doute and Crédit Agricole Consumer
Finance have been partners since 1968,
using the brands Sofinco and Finaref,
and they originally created the
‘Kangourou’ card for retail finance.
However, the Internet has changed the
way that retailers operate, and the
needs of retail finance have changed
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Global Affinity Finance Club
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with them: La Redoute is now the
leading online retailer of clothes and
furnishings in France, and 75% of its
turnover is derived online. The two
new services are called ‘R-Express’ and
‘R-Premium’, and are designed to sup-
port online shopping while giving cus-
tomers more flexibility in choosing
how they want to make their pay-
ments.
GE Capital creates two new
retailer finance partnerships
in the US...
The most recent quarter has also seen
a typical flow of new or renewed retail-
er finance agreements on the part of
GE Capital in the US. Firstly, its retail
finance division has established a new,
multi-year contract for a private label
credit card with PANDORA, a manu-
facturer of hand-finished jewellery
headquartered in Denmark that was
founded in 1982 and that has almost
500 branded stores around the world,
generating annual revenues of around
EUR 895 million in 2010.
In addition, it has also created a new
agreement to provide consumer fi-
nance through the authorised dealers
of C.F. Martin & Co, a manufacturer
of guitars, on a nationwide basis. Spe-
cifically, customers purchasing a guitar
will be able to finance that using an
affinity card set up with the National
Association of Music Merchants.
... and renews three others
Moreover, it has also renewed its re-
tailer card deals with Select Comfort, a
bedding retailer with around 400
shops, with Sleepy’s, the country’s
largest specialised mattress retailer with
over 700 outlets, and with Stein Mart,
a fashion and home merchandise chain
with around 260 stores. The Select
Comfort and Sleepy’s programs were
launched originally in 1999 and 2001,
respectively, while that with Stein Mart
commenced in 2006 and, in the latter
case, the two partners plan to launch a
new private label card in 2012.
———————————————
General
Crédit Mutuel and Desjardins
Group agree closer co-
operation
A new co-operative partnership has
been announced between Desjardins
Group of Canada and Crédit Mutuel
of France, in a move that will see these
two mutual banking groups working
together more closely in a number of
strategic and operational areas. Specific
projects are already underway as part
of this international initiative, including
the joint development of an e-payment
solutions product. Furthermore, each
group will establish an overseas pres-
ence within the headquarters of the
other party; one of Crédit Mutuel’s
subsidiaries (namely Banque Transat-
lantique) will open an office at
Desjardin’s Le Windsor building in
Montreal, and Desjardins will be send-
ing a representative team to Crédit
Mutuel’s Parisian site in order to fur-
ther assist its Canadian business cus-
tomers in their dealings within Euro-
pean markets.
———————————————
Affinity Banking
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Global Affinity Finance Club
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Ageas, 8 Aksigorta, 8 Alleanza Toro, 13 Allianz, 4, 7, 8 Allianz Life, 8 Ally Financial, 11, 16 American Express, 10, 13, 17 Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Company, 12 ANZ, 12, 13 Assurant Solutions, 6, 10 Aston Martin, 11 Asurion, 6 Avios, 13 Aviva, 5, 9 AXA, 4, 5, 7, 11 Banca Sella, 13 Banco Pastor, 11 Banco Popolare, 12 Bank of China, 10, 13 Banque Edel, 9 Banque Transatlantique, 19 Banques Populaires, 12 Barclaycard, 10, 14 Barclays, 4, 9 Barclays Private Equity, 4 BMO Bank of Montreal, 17 BNP Paribas, 14 Bouygues Telecom, 6 Britannia, 11 C.F. Martin & Co, 19 Caisse d’Epargne, 13, 17 Caser, 5 Cattolica Assicurazioni, 9 CESPA LUBRICANTES, 11 Chase, 11 Chevrolet, 11 China UnionPay, 12, 14 Cigna, 4 Citigroup, 17 Coldiretti, 12 Conforama, 17 Consel, 13 Crédit Agricole, 14, 15, 18 Crédit Mutuel, 19 CreditAgri, 12 Danamon Bank, 10 Darty, 17 DBS, 9 Desjardins, 18, 19 Deutscher ReiseVerband, 5 Device Fidelity, 15 DFS, 6 Die Familienunternehmer - ASU, 4, 5 Die Jungen Unternehmer - BJU, 4 Diners Club International, 14 Domestic & General, 6, 7 EAT, 14 Equity Insurance Partnerships, 5 Etisalat, 15 EZShield, 6 FFCGEA, 12 FIATC, 5 Fiditalia, 10
Finaref, 18 FirstAssist, 4 FNAC, 17 Foodland, 17 France Angels, 4 FreshCo, 17 Furniture Village, 6 GE Capital, 19 General Motors, 11 Generali, 13 Genertel, 13 Globalfinanz, 4 GMAC, 11, 16, 17 Great Lakes Reinsurance, 4 Groupama, 5 Guardsman, 6 Hang Seng Bank, 9 HDFC Bank, 14, 15 Honda, 5 HSBC, 9 Hyllinge Bus, 7 IGA, 17 Ikano Bank, 8 InComm, 18 Indesit, 6 Isetan Mitsukoshi, 17 International Space Transport Association ISTA, 7 KB Kookmin Card, 13 Kia, 5 Kmart, 18 KTM Sportmotorcycle, 12 La Mondiale, 5 La Redoute, 18 LAKS, 15 Lands' End, 18 Legal & General, 8, 9 Liberty, 5, 9 Liberty Group, 9 Liuzhou Wuling Motors, 11 Lloyds TSB, 13 Loan Value Group, 16 Manulife, 10 MasterCard, 12, 13, 15, 16, 18 Mazda, 5 McDonald’s, 14 Mercury Drug, 18 Metropole Zlicin, 17 MG Motor, 11 MI Card Company, 17 Mizuho Financial Group, 14 Munich Re, 4 National Association of Music Merchants, 19 Nissan, 5, 11 Orange, 14 PANDORA, 19 Pelayo, 5 Pret A Manger, 14 Professional Golfers' Association of Spain, 4 ProMarkt, 7 ProSiebenSat1, 13 Prudential Vietnam Assurance, 9 R+V, 5 Rabobank, 17
RadioShack, 6 Raffles Medical Group, 13 Reale, 5 Renault, 5 Saab, 11 Sabanci, 8 SAIC Group, 11 San Miniato Previdenza, 9 Santander, 5, 11, 12 Sberbank, 8 SCS, 6 Sears Holdings Corporation, 18 Select Comfort, 19 SGM-Wuling, 11 Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation, 11 Sleepy’s, 19 Sobeys, 17 SOCAMA, 12 Société Générale, 10, 16 Société Générale Insurance, 10 Sofinco, 18 Solid Försäkringar, 6, 7, 8 SpaceLinq, 7 SPB, 9 Sprint, 6 Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank SRCB, 12, 13 Standard Bank, 9 Staples, 18 Steve Perryman, 6 Stoke City F.C., 11 Subway, 14 Sun Life Financial, 4 Sunoco, 18 Target, 17 Targo Bank, 13 Telefónica, 15 The Warranty Group, 6 Thrifty Foods, 17 Triumph, 5 TTK Group, 4 Valspar Corporation, 6 Vauxhall, 11 Veolia Transdev, 13 Vincento, 15 Visa, 9, 10, 13, 14, 15 Vodafone, 15 Walgreens, 17 Watch It Live, 6 Western Union, 16, 18 WHSmith, 18
Organisations in this issue
21
Global Affinity Finance Club
www.finaccord.com
About GAFC
The Global Affinity Finance Club is
Finaccord’s quarterly newsletter about
affinity financial services worldwide.
Through this, Finaccord publishes top
line information about key strategic
developments in affinity and partner-
ship marketing of financial services
around the world, segmented between
affinity insurance news, bancassurance
news and affinity banking news.
This service differs from that provided
by other research companies because
its focus is genuinely global, often
translating news that only appears in
languages other than English. In addi-
tion, it concentrates exclusively on
affinity and partnership marketing
strategy.
Affinity and partnership marketing
strategy is an important component of
general distribution strategy for a ma-
jority of large banks and insurance
companies serving consumers and
small businesses as successful partner-
ships potentially allow them to access
groups of customers that they cannot
always reach by themselves.
If you would like to join Finaccord’s
Global Affinity Finance Club, contact
us by telephone or send us an email to
[email protected]. Thereafter, each
quarter, we will send you a link to the
page of our website with fresh news
and future editions of this document.
About Finaccord
Finaccord is a leading market research, publishing and consulting company specializing in financial services. We provide our clients with insight with a particular focus on marketing and distribution strategies, including affini-ty and partnership marketing. Our areas of expertise include: affinity and partnership marketing; automotive financial services; bancassurance; com-mercial non-life insurance brokers; consumer intelligence; creditor insur-ance; distribution channels; extended warranties; insurance and assistance linked to payment cards and bank accounts; mobile gadget and telephone insurance; retailer financial services; small business financial services; and travel insurance and assistance. Our international network of consult-ants is able to deliver information quickly and accurately across a range of countries worldwide, basing re-search projects on robust data and knowledge rather than supposition and theory. © Finaccord Ltd., 2012 Registered in London No. 4542931 The Office Farringdon 24 Greville Street London, EC1N 8SS Phone: +44 20 3178 2556 Fax: +44 20 7198 7902 Email: [email protected] www.finaccord.com
Does your organisation have
news about its affinity or part-
nership marketing relationships
that we missed in this newslet-
ter? To produce it, we systemat-
ically research close to 250 ma-
jor financial services institu-
tions from around the world
each quarter. However, if you
would also like us to include
your company in this research,
please send an e-mail to analy-
[email protected] and we will
ensure that it is tracked in fu-
ture quarters.
To access the archive of news
from the Global Affinity Fi-
nance Club please visit
www.finaccord.com/afi
Finaccord’s latest published reports include:
Non-Life Bancassurance in Europe: Accident and Health Insurance GBP 2,995
Life Bancassurance in Europe: Protection-Related Life Insurance GBP 2,995
Non-Life Bancassurance in Europe: Motor and Household Insurance GBP 2,995
Bancassurance in Europe: Life, Non-Life and Creditor Insurance (20 single country reports) GBP 795 each
Life Bancassurance in Europe: Investment-Related Life Insurance and Retirement Savings GBP 2,995
Creditor Insurance in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe GBP 2,495
Creditor Insurance in Southern and Western Europe GBP 2,495
Fleet Insurance and Assistance in Europe GBP 2,995
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